The Road to Jerusalem

Will You Listen To Our Warning?

Acts 21:1–6 “And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.”

Tyre: Land of Lebanon with great cedars used in David’s palace and Solomon’s temple. Port city famous for its extravagant wealth. From Isaiah to Ezekiel to Amos, many prophecies in the OT tell of Tyre’s downfall, which came at the hand of Babylon after a 13-year siege from 586 to 573 BC.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He used Tyre and its sister city Sidon to illustrate the depravity of the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida, saying, Matthew 11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (All coastal cities—Chorazin & Bethsaida just north of the Sea of Galilee, while Tyre and Sidon were east of the Mediterranean Sea.) Matthew 15:21 actually records that Jesus spent time in the region of Tyre and Sidon. And in Luke 16 we learn that people from Tyre actually joined a crowd of Jesus’ followers to hear him preach.

So it is not terribly surprising for us to discover that there were Christians in Tyre when Paul’s ship landed. Paul and his companions searched for these Christians, found them, and stayed with them for on week. “And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem.”

[Contrast with Acts 20:22–23 “And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.”] Is this a contradiction? Does the Spirit compel Paul to go to Jerusalem or not to go to Jerusalem? As is often the case with a confusing passage, the resolution lies in the context, which we will see in the next section of scripture.

But it is clear that Paul would not listen to the pleas of Tyre’s Christians as they begged him to stay away from Jerusalem.

Note the tender love Tyre’s saints had for Paul, as seen in how they saw him off. With notable similarities to the way the Ephesian elders said an emotional goodbye to Paul, here again is Luke’s account of Paul’s departure from Tyre:

Acts 21:5–6 “When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.”

May I Borrow Your Belt?

Acts 21:7–12 “When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.”

Paul’s next major stop was at Caesarea Maritima. Philip the evangelist settled there after baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch, as we read back in Acts 8. In Chapter 9 Hellenists in Jerusalem were threatening Paul’s life, so some brothers helped Paul escape to Tarsus through Caesarea. In Chapter 10 this is where the Peter shared the gospel with Cornelius the centurion, a gentile who embraced Jesus as his Savior, along with his entire household. In Chapter 12 we also saw that this is where an angel struck dead King Agrippa I when he accepted worship as if he were a god.

Paul stayed with Philip the evangelist, whom Luke called “one of the seven.” This is a reminder that Philip was ordained as a servant of the church back in Acts 6, one of those deacons who kept unity in the church by making sure that no one was left out in the distribution of food. So, as the outcome of Paul’s fateful trip to Jerusalem gets closer, many elements from the book of Acts are coming together like flashbacks near the climax of a movie, just before the main character blacks out.

Philip had 4 daughters who prophesied, yet a fifth prophet appeared on the scene. He was another element from Paul’s past, for back in Chapter 11 he appeared in Antioch and foretold of a massive famine. This prompted the church in Antioch to collect a special offering to relieve the suffering of the Christians in Jerusalem. Do you remember who delivered that offering? It was none other than Barnabas and Paul.

With the dramatic flare of an Old Testament prophet, Agabus tied himself up with Paul’s belt, declaring that the owner of the belt would be bound by Jews at Jerusalem and then handed over to the Gentiles, presumably the Roman authorities. At these words, Paul’s companions and friends began to urge him not to go to Jerusalem.

In this event, we see that Agabus prophesied an unpleasant outcome for Paul in Jerusalem, and the prophecy came from the Holy Spirit. Then those who loved Paul concluded that he should not go to Jerusalem and asked him to stay away. And I think this is how we are to understand what happened back in Tyre, which Luke summarized as “Through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.” It’s not that the Spirit was telling him not to go, but the Spirit confirmed that suffering awaited him, and the people urged him not to go. This understanding is confirmed by what we read back in Acts 20:22–23 “And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.”

This explains why Paul is so determined to go to Jerusalem in spite of these warnings: He understands this to be the will of God. He is constrained by the Spirit to go.

We Don’t Meant To Make This More Difficult.

Acts 21:13–16 “Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.”

Imagine a young man preparing to enlist in the military during a time of active war. He believes in his country’s mission, and he is willing to fight and—if necessary—die for it. Now imagine that his friends and family have gathered around him. They believe in the cause nearly as much as he does, but they don’t want to lose him, so they beg him not to enlist. In that moment, he knows that he will go with their blessing or not, but O, how he wants their blessing!

This is a small taste of what it was like for Paul in Caesarea. He knew that he would go to Jerusalem. He knew it to be God’s will, but he also loved the companions that surrounded him, and he wanted their blessing so badly! You can hear that moment’s passion and its agony in Paul’s words: “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?” He explained to them that he was willing to pay any price to follow God’s plan for his life. And out of love for Paul, what did the people do? Did they continue to burden Paul with their pleading? No, they stopped. They dried their tears, took a deep collective breath, and submitted to God’s will, as Paul had already done. This submitting started in word: “Let the will of the Lord be done,” and it culminated in action: Paul and his companions got ready and went up to Jerusalem.

That’s where our passage for today leaves us, just arriving in Jerusalem at the house of a man from Cyprus, one of the early disciples, who showed hospitality to Paul and his traveling companions. So if you want to find out what happened to Paul there in Jerusalem, you will need to come back next week, when—God willing—Pastor Mike will explain it to us.

As for us today, what can we glean from this passage? 3 Things:

A Look at Jesus

A Call to Action

A Reason to Rejoice

A Look at Jesus

Paul was not the first to set his face toward Jerusalem, knowing that suffering awaited him there.